Turn to the end of Romans 8 and into Romans 9. Now I want you to notice this striking difference. The end of Romans 8 is occupied in comforting us with the fact that we shant be separated. Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Comfort yourselves—it’s all right. No one can separate you—tribulations, distress, peril, nakedness, and so on. That won’t separate you. It’s all right! And then verses 38, 39, “For I am persuaded that neither death, life, etc., shall be able to separate you. You’re all right, all right. All right, be comforted, nothing will separate you.”

Look at two verses later on, 9:1. This man changes his whole tone. He says, “I say the truth in Christ. I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost . . . .” In other words, this is coming from the Holy Ghost. My conscience bears me witness that this is the Holy Ghost. “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were separated from Christ for my brethren.” The word “accursed” is in the margin. “Separated.” The same person who just said, “Comfort yourself. It’s all right. You can’t be separated,” says, “God, I’ll say that to you. I am ready to be separated from yourself. Separate me yourself unless you save Israel. I don’t want a union with you if it doesn’t include Israel.”

That’s intercession. That’s the Intercessor within who says, “I don’t want to go alone to heaven, and I don’t intend to go alone to heaven.” That’s separation. You know, when a person talks about eternal security, and is sort of very anxious to get to heaven, I say, “Brother, forget it. Don’t be anxious about you getting to heaven. Be anxious over getting other people to heaven.” You know, old C.T. Studd was an old queer. He was so queer some of his missionaries thought he had more of the devil than the Lord in him. And so he said to them once, “Oh, some people say that I’ve the devil in me. That means I can go and live where the devil is.” “My,” he said, “if I go live where that devil is, I’ll so preach the gospel in hell, I’ll make it so hot for him he’ll open the door and say, ‘Clear out quick before you get my devils saved.’”

That’s the way—he wasn’t thinking of any eternal salvation, he was thinking of the salvation of other people. We’re a poor lot. You meet people who say, “Oh, I don’t know if I’ve lost my salvation.” I say, “Brother, if Jesus wants you to go to hell, go to hell for Jesus! Don’t moan and groan about it. Go, go where He wants you. I don’t want to go to heaven for heaven, do you? I want to go to heaven for Jesus. The golden streets don’t mean that [snap of the fingers —Ed.] to me! The golden Person means something to me. I know one thing—if Jesus wasn’t in heaven, I’d rather not go there, that’s all. I’m not going up to a place, and if Jesus would walk with me better in hell, by His grace I’d rather Him take me to hell.

So I’m not out to get myself secure. I’m out to forget all about that business and get somebody else in. That’s this life. That’s intercession—that’s priesthood. Clean out of comforting yourself in sanctification, comforting yourself in salvation. Clean out of that. Immerse in, “I’ve to get these people saved!”